How to Plant Dahlia Bulbs

Dahlia bulbs should be planted in the heat, and they should be brought indoors or put in a greenhouse for the winter. Discover the growth requirements of dahlia plants with helpful tips from a sustainable gardener in this free video on growing flowers. View Video Transcript

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Yolanda Vanveen

Video Transcript

Hi this is Yolanda Vanveen from vanveenbulbs.com and in this segment I am going to talk about how to plant dahlia bulbs. Now dahlias are a beautiful addition to your garden and I love them because they bloom Summer through Fall. They're one of the last flowers to bloom in my yard even through the Fall I just love them. Now dahlias are native to Mexico so they really like a lot of heat and they will freeze out in colder climates in the Wintertime so if you live in a cold climate bring them in. In the Pacific northwest I have been pretty lucky with just tarping them and keeping them dry in the Winter because the key is they've got to be dry in the Winter. If you live in a really wet climate they're going to rot right out in the Winter time unless you keep them dry somehow. Now an easy way to take care f them is to put them in a container because then that way you can bring them in a garage for the Winter or keep them dry even in the laundry room in the Winter and you can save them from year to year really easily. Now dahlia bulbs are considered tubers or anything that goes dormant in the Winter, any plant is a bulb so they are definitely a bulb and so you want to plant them about three inches above the bulb in the ground. Now you can see they've got to have eyes to send up shoots and so the little parts on the bottom don't seem to matter as much it's all about the eyes. Now this one has got a couple eyes coming up too and so when you're trying to figure out which way is up let the eyes tell you so whatever direction they are pointing then you plant them that direction. Sometimes if it's early Spring you cannot even see the eyes yet so wherever they meet together is where the stalk was from last year, that's usually a good indication on which way is up but because these eyes are kind of to this direction I will plant them right this direction. Now the key is three inches deep even if the eye is coming up, you want to plant them deep enough so that they're not going to fall over for one and that they can stay moist enough when you do water them and then they'll have a little bit of extra protection for the Winter time. So you just want to fill the pot maybe half way full and a lot of times I'll mix gravel even in with my soil because it gives it a little more drainage or sand and I like gravel too because it really gives a lot of drainage especially to a warmer climate or plants that really don't want to sit in muck. So then I just kind of set them in the pot and dahlias are very social. They like to be in groups so you don't want to put them in time out. You don't want to put just one in the corner you want to put groups of dahlias together and they'll do much better. They can be different varieties together as long as they're the same plant and then I'm just going to cover all of that up and I kind of have a mix of a lot of gravel in here and soil and I've got this shoot that is already growing coming out of the soil. Now I want to water that well but you don't want it to sit in water too much either because it is going to start to rot so you want to kind of check it. If it is in a pot you want a saucer underneath so it at leasts holds some of the water and soaks it back in but at the same time you don't want it just sitting in water all the time because you can lose them that way. Dahlias can handle warm shade but they really like heat so put them in the sunniest hottest spot you have in your garden and they'll do really well. Now protect them in the Winter if you live in a cold climate or leave them outside if you live in a warm climate and you will find that you can be cutting your dahlias and enjoying the flowers all Summer through Fall.